Aged Garlic Extract for Protection Against Colon and Other Digestive System Cancers

by Lori Foster

Of all the cancers that affect both men and women, colon cancer is the second-leading killer in the United States, according to the National Centers for Disease Control. Media campaigns push for early diagnosis with colonoscopies beginning at age 50. We eat probiotics, avoid cured meats and load up on fiber in hopes of preventing it.But one basic spice is emerging as a powerful force in preventing cancerous polyps in the colon and in reducing the size of existing polyps. Several recent studies show that garlic has a significant impact on cancer of the colon. Researchers have found that it can help heal or prevent cancers of the liver, bladder and pancreas as well. This is exciting news. And fortunately, for those who are turned off by the odor of fresh or cooked garlic and the potential digestive problems it can cause, there is a way to derive garlic’s health benefits without harsh side effects. More and more people are relying on Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) to receive a recommended medicinal dose.

THE AGED GARLIC EXTRACT ADVANTAGE
With AGE, the aging process eliminates odors and digestive problems while retaining the most important medicinal substances. No garlic breath. No body odor. No sour stomach, nausea or diarrhea. Supplementing with AGE means we don’t have to trade our comfort or our social lives to receive the healthy colon support garlic provides. And in supplemental form, the potency is much greater than what one could receive through diet.

COLON CANCER PREVENTATIVE
In any form, garlic is potent. We have long known that it can reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol, but the scientific evidence that garlic can help protect against colon cancer is quickly mounting. Its potential as a chemopreventive has attracted so much attention that researchers at the University of Australia decided to review several recent studies on the spice. They wanted to determine whether the studies were valid and exactly what kind of impact garlic has on colon cancer. The results, published in October 2007 Journal of Nutrition were astounding. The Australian researchers confirmed the validity of several important studies. One study included in their research found a 29 percent reduction in both size and number of cancerous polyps in patients taking AGE. A meta-analysis of 7 studies showed a 30 percent reduction in colon cancer risk for those who supplemented with garlic. Five of the most reliable studies suggested that a high intake of raw or cooked garlic has a protective effect against cancer, and two studies also suggested a protective effect specifically for distal colon cancer. The researchers concluded that there is, indeed, consistent scientific evidence to support the claims of garlic’s anti-cancer properties. Most studies involving garlic’s effect on colon cancer include raw, cooked and aged garlic extract, but a study conducted at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Osaka, Japan, and published in the March 2006 issue of the Journal of Nutrition, focused specifically on AGE. Researchers examined its effect on colorectal cancer cells and on angiogenesis, the process by which the body creates new blood vessels, enabling the transition of tumors from a dormant state to a malignant one. They found that AGE suppresses the proliferation of three different colon cancer cell lines and inhibits the invasive activity of two of those lines. According to the researchers, the results suggest that AGE could prevent tumor formation by inhibiting the growth of those dangerous and threatening blood vessels. AGE, they argued, “would be a good chemopreventive agent for colorectal cancer.”Also in the March 2006 Journal of Nutrition, researchers at Hiroshima University Hospital in Japan published the findings of their study of AGE’s impacton 37 patients diagnosed with colorectal ad-enomas, the type of colon polyp that is most likely to turn cancerous. (Patients were divided into two groups, those who took placebos and those who received high, daily doses of AGE. Polyp measurements were taken throughout the study. The patients in the placebo group grew more polyps in a year’s time, but the results were undeniably positive for the second group. Researchers found that AGE “significantly suppressed both the size and number of colon adenomas in patients after 12 months of high-dose treatment.” That’s certainly something to get excited about.

FIGHTS LIVER, PANCREATIC AND OTHER CANCERS
Japanese researchers were also curious about the impact of AGE on cancers of other organs that belong to the digestive system, particularly advanced stage cancers. So they recruited 50 patients with inoperable colorectal, liver, or pancreatic cancer for a double-blind randomized study that was also published in March 2006 Journal of Nutrition. Most of the patients had liver cancer. Seven had pancreatic cancer and only one suffered from colon cancer. After six months, scientists discovered that those who were given AGE had significantly higher levels of natural killer cells—white blood cells that play a major role in tumor rejection—and in natural killer cell activity than patients in the placebo group.None showed any harmful effects from the daily supplements of AGE.Though scientists are still uncertain precisely how garlic fights cancer, researchers from Robert C. Byrd Health Science Center West Virginia University found a similar correlation between garlic intake and immune response in animals. In the Journal of Nutrition’s March 2001 review of animal studies involving sarcoma and gastric, colon, bladder and prostate cancer, they found that garlic provoked responses from the body that were similar to those of immunotherapy.Among other effects, they found that both approaches stimulated the production of vital white blood cells and encouraged those cells to attack transplanted tumors. Just as in the later human study, the West Virginia University review concluded that garlic boosts natural killer cells and helps suppress the immune response that put the animals at increased risk for malignancy.

AGE OVER FRESH GARLIC
AGE inhibits oxidation while fresh garlic stimulates it. Oxidation is responsible for the adverse reactions some people experience, such as stomach ulcers and anemia. “Among the garlic preparations, only aged garlic extract has been proven to be safe through toxicological studies. Thus, aged garlic extract could be the most promising garlic preparation for disease prevention,” Sumiyoshi writes. Despite the clear evidence that AGE can help prevent and heal digestive cancers, the best approach to prevention is still multi-facetted. We should all get colonoscopy screenings when our doctors prescribe them, exercise more, maintain healthy weights, drink alcohol only in moderation, eat lots of fiber and load up on antioxidants. It’s also important to pay attention to our bodies’ signals and to see a doctor whenever we sense significant or persistent change.

LAST WORD
Supplementing with AGE is vital to that cancer-prevention mix and even more critical for those who are fighting cancer of the colon or digestive system or trying to fend off a potential reoccurrence. Scientists and doctors have made huge advances in the treatment and prevention of cancer with screenings, diagnostic testing, surgery and artificially produced medicines, but in all our enthusiasm to concoct new cures, we sometimes overlook the powerful tools that nature has already provided. AGE is a scientifically proven, powerful defense against digestive cancer. It is all-natural and inexpensive, and supplementing is as easy as swallowing a pill. Best of all, it produces no harmful or undesirable side effects. With AGE, you can have your garlic and your social life, too.